Government testing chief plays down Matt Hancock’s target amid row

The government’s testing co-ordinator insisted people should not get ‘hung up on targets’ today as he argued the goal for 100,000 checks a day had been met. Prof John Newton brushed off a row over whether the numbers had been cooked, stressing the big picture was capacity had risen sharply and there would always be … Read more

Nobel Prize-winning biologist blasts Matt Hancock’s 100,000 daily Covid tests target as a ‘PR stunt’

A Nobel Prize-winning biologist has branded the Government’s 100,000 coronavirus tests per day target a ‘PR stunt’ as it emerged that it was ‘likely’ to be hit on time. Sir Paul Nurse, chief executive of biomedical research centre the Francis Crick Institute, also tore into the strategy on Question Time last night and said it … Read more

Matt Hancock faces MISSING 100,000-a-day testing target TODAY

Ministers have admitted they face missing Matt Hancock‘s coronavirus testing target today – as experts brand it a ‘red herring’ that has hampered the response. Amid criticism that the UK was lagging behind countries such as South Korea and Germany, the Health Secretary dramatically pledged on April 2 that 100,000 checks a day would be carried … Read more

Coronavirus testing figures are still only HALF the 100,000 daily target set by Matt Hancock

Coronavirus testing figures are still only HALF the 100,000 daily target set by Matt Hancock – despite a huge expansion of the eligibility criteria There were only 52,429 virus tests on Tuesday, missing the target by nearly half  Matt Hancock’s testing plan was criticised as a ‘red herring’ by hospital leaders The eligibility criteria now … Read more

Now banks target their LOYAL savers with rate cuts

Now banks target their LOYAL savers with cuts four times bigger than the Bank of England base rate fall Official base rate was reduced by 0.65 percentage points last month to 0.1%  Readers say banks have responded with rate cuts of up to 2.5 percentage points Nationwide, Yorkshire, Co-op Bank and Santander have dished out … Read more

Coronavirus UK: Matt Hancock makes £100 bet over test target

Matt Hancock today agreed to a £100 bet that the UK will meet its target of 100,000 coronavirus tests a day by the end of the month – despite not even being halfway there yet. The charitable bet adds pressure onto the Health Secretary to fulfil the 100,000 tests per day he promised would be met … Read more

Britain looks set to miss 100,000 coronavirus tests a day target laid down by Matt Hancock

Health bosses look set to miss their own coronavirus testing target with just three days to go, in what would be an embarrassing blow. Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, insisted last month that Britain would be conducting 100,000 tests a day by the end of April.  But just 29,058 tests took place on Saturday, the latest … Read more

Only ONE NHS trust hit A&E target to see 95% within four hours

Only one hospital trust in England treated its A&E patients within the NHS time target last year, MailOnline can reveal. Yeovil District Hospital was the only place that managed to process 95 per cent of its patients within four hours of their arrival. Its average for the year was 96.3 per cent. Statistics analysed by this … Read more

Researchers examine engineering ‘own’ immune cells to target and destroy coronavirus-infected cells

Re-engineering coronavirus patient’s ‘own’ immune cells to target and destroy virus-infected tissues could be the key to treating the disease, researchers say Researchers say the therapy involves extracting immune cells, called T lymphocytes, from a coronavirus patient’s blood stream Then receptors on the surface of the cells are engineered to recognize cells infected with the … Read more

Daily coronavirus tests are 80,000 short of the target promised by Health Secretary Matt Hancock 

Britain’s coronavirus testing programme appears to be in crisis – as health bosses have just ten days to increase the number of daily swabs fivefold. Ministers yesterday insisted they will hit their target of testing 100,000 people a day by the end of April. But just 21,626 tests were performed on Saturday – the highest … Read more